On this page you will find Post war Signed Photos, Postal Covers, Bookplates and other Aviation or Military Memorabilia. If you have any queries or wish to place an order please contact me via:
Maue1@tiscali.co.uk
POST WAR SIGNED PHOTOS, CARDS, LETTERS etc
GENERAL JAMES 'JIMMY' DOOLITTLE
Doolittle served during WW1 as a flight leader and gunnery instructor and he returned to active duty in 1940. After the attack on Pearl Harbor he was selected to lead the first bombing raid against Japan - a very difficult task because of the logistics involved. Flying B-25 bombers off the USS Hornet, the 'Doolittle' Raid did negligible damage to the Japanese but was a tremendous morale booster for the American people. It earned Doolittle a promotion and the Medal of Honor. In January 1944 he took command of the US 8th Air Force in Britain, where he encouraged fighter leaders to use much more aggressive tactics to bring the Luftwaffe to battle. These tactics, particularly when used by the P-51 groups, brought immediate results which would lead to air superiority in Europe. Doolittle passed away in 1993
This is a clipped piece from a letter - "With every good wish" Signed by Doolittle
**** PRICE £50 ****
CAPTAIN EDDIE RICKENBACKER
Highest scoring American Ace of WW1
Edward Vernon Rickenbacker was the top US Ace of WW1 with 26 victories. Before going to war, Rickenbacker was a racing driver with more than his fair share of near death incidents. On reaching France in 1918 he joined the 94th Aero Squadron and he scored his first victory on the 21st April 1918 - the same day Von Richthofen fell! Rickenbacker rapidly increased his score and was finally credited with 26 victories - a US record that was not to be surpassed until Dick Bong in WW2. After the war, Rickenbacker continued to extoll the virtues of air travel and his leadership of 'Eastern Air Lines' was critical in this endeavour. Rickenbacker was actively involved during WW2, visiting units and undertaking diplomatic missions. He died in 1973. This is a typed and signed letter on 'Eastern Air Lines' headed notepaper dated 17th October 1941.
A very collectible piece of History.
**** PRICE £75 ****
ROYAL AIR FORCE
GROUP CAPTAIN DOUGLAS BADER
Group Captain Douglas Bader is one of the most famous personalities of WW2. Having had both legs amputated after a pre-war flying accident, Bader flew during the Battle of Britain commanding the Squadrons from Duxford as part of 12 Group.
This is a Signed Card dated 17.04.1972 and comes with a 10 x 8 photo of Bader posing on the wing of his Battle of Britain Hurricane.
Two nice Items
**** PRICE £65 ****
Sir Arthur Travers HARRIS - MRAF
MARSHALL OF THE ROYAL AIR FORCE SIR ARTHUR HARRIS
The head of Bomber Command - Arthur 'Bomber' Harris [or 'Butcher' to the men of Bomber Command] has been a controversial figure, mostly since the end of the Second World War, for his ruthless pursuit of 'Area Bombing' of German cities. What tends to be overlooked as that he also transformed the effectiveness and professionalism of Bomber Command during the later stages of WW2 making it an effective and terrifying weapon of war.
This is a 10 x 8 Photo signed by Arthur T. Harris MRAF
**** PRICE £75 ****
GROUP CAPTAIN JAMES EDGAR 'JOHNNIE' JOHNSON
'Johnnie' Johnson was credited with 34 Victories during the Second World war, flying various versions of the Spitfire. This is a Signed Card 12cms x 7cms.
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Ludwik MARTEL - Signed photo
The Polish Ludwik Martel flew Spitfires during the Battle of Britain with 54 Squadron from Hornchurch airfield. He was later part of Skalski's Polish Fighting Team. Martel passed away earlier this year.
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IMPERIAL JAPANESE NAVY
Warrant Officer Ryoji OHARA
Ohara recorded his first victory in October 1942 over Guadalcanal and later showed that his A6M Zero could take on the much feared F4U Corsair. In 1943 his Unit bounced the Corsairs of VMF124, Ohara shooting down Major Gise before having to fight for his life with the remaining Corsairs, returning to base with 38 bullet-holes in his Zero. He later served with the 204AG and the Yokosuka AG, flying his last sorties in August 1945. Dubbed 'The killer of Rabaul', Ohara is credited with 48 Victories.
This is a signed Photo - Japanese signatures are extremely rare!
**** PRICE £85 ****
LUFTWAFFE
JAGDFLIEGER
Oberst ERICH HARTMANN
Knights Cross with Oak Leaves,Swords & Diamonds
The Worlds highest scoring ace - Erich 'Bubi' Hartmann's 352 Victories are a feat unlikely to be surpassed. Flying with JG52 against the Soviets for most of the war, Hartmann amassed his score in the last three years of the war. In 1944 he did have encounters with US P-51 Mustangs and was credited with 7 of these destroyed. Hartmann spent 10 years after the war in Soviet confinement but was released in 1955. Erich Hartmann passed away in 1993. This photo, signed by hartmann, depicts the event of his 300th Victory - unfortunately they have given him WARM Champagne!!
A very nice item
***** SOLD *****
General ADOLF GALLAND
Knights Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords & Diamonds
One of the most famous of all german fighter Aces, 'Dolfo' Galland fought in the Spanish Civil War and in Poland - the latter flying the little Henschel 123 ground attack biplane. Galland, however, wanted to be a fighter pilot and was soon moved to an Me109 equipped Unit - JG27 - and scored his fisrt victories. Flying throughout the Battle of France and then Battle of Britain, Galland proved himself a superb leader - JG26 became one of the premier Units under his command. He was later promoted to General der Jagdflieger and became increasingly bitter towards Goring and the tactics being used. Galland was finally ousted from his position in 1945 but he immediately went to Munich to set up JV44 to fly the Me262. Galland scored a total of 104 Victories. He passed away in 1996.
Very nice Signed Photo portrait
**** PRICE £45 ****
Major Georg Peter EDER
Knights Cross with Oak Leaves.
Georg Peter EDER had a remarkable career in the Luftwaffe, initially serving with JG51 in the Battle of Britain. He then served in Russia scoring several victories before being severely wounded in an accident. On his return he was posted to JG2 in the West and, along with Egon Meyer, devised the deadly head-on attack on US bombers. He later moved to JG1 and continued to score victories before moving to JG26 to fight over Normandy. He later flew the Me262 jet with Kommando Nowotny and JG7 and scored at least 12 victories with the jet. Eder scored a total of 78 victories. He passed away in 1986.
This is a rare signed photo
**** PRICE £30 ****
HAUPTMANN MARTIN 'TINO' BECKER
Knights Cross with Oak Leaves
One of the premier nightfighter aces of the Luftwaffe, 'Tino' Becker scored a total of 58 victories, including 9 Lancasters in one night. He flew the Me110G with NJG4 and NJG6 and his bordfunker Johannson also won the Knights Cross. Becker passed away in 2006.
A nice item
**** PRICE £30 ****
LEUTNANT WILHELM CRINIUS
Knights Cross with Oak Leaves
Crinius served with JG53 scoring his first victories in russia. He was shot down behind enemy lines before being rescued by German infantry. He rapidly raised his score to 100 by September 1942. His unit then moved to Tunisia where he scored 14 victories before an encounter with Spitfires forced him to bail out of his aircraft wounded. He spent 24 hours in the water before being rescued by French sailors and Arabs and being made a POW. Crinius scored 114 victories and passed away in 1997.
Signed Photo of him recieving the Oak Leaves from Hitler
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MAJOR HUBERT RAUH
Knights Cross
Hubert Rauh trained as a night fighter pilot in late 1941, joining NJG1 the following year. He quickly moved to NJG4 where he rose to command 2nd Gruppe. He scored a total of 31 Victories at night.
Very Nice signed photo
**** PRICE £20 ****
MAJOR REINHARD 'SEPPL' SEILER
Knights Cross with oak Leaves
'Seppl' Seiler had a long and distinguished career in the Luftwaffe. Originally he scord 9 victories during the Spanish Civil War before adding 100 more during WW2. Seiler flew with JG54 'Green Hearts' during the Battle of Britain and in Russia. Badly wounded, Seiler was put in charge of the training JG104 to see out the war. Seiler passed away in 1989.
This is a passport sized photo signed in ink - very rare signature
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MAJOR WERNER SCHROER
Knights Cross With Oak Leaves and Swords
Werner Schroer began his career with JG27 on the Channel Front in August 1940. He moved with JG27 to the sands of North africa, where he scored his first victories. He was awarded the Knights Cross in October 1941 for 49 victories. He was appointed Gruppenkommandeur of II/JG27 in April 1943. Operating over Sicily and southern Italy, Schroer claimed 22 Allied aircraft destroyed - he was awarded the Oak Leaves for his 84th Victory. JG27 were recalled for Defence of the Reich, where Schroer continued to score against US aircraft. In March 1944 he scored his 99th victory and was posted to III/JG54 to relieve Major Rudi Sinner. After this Schroer was withdrawn from front line units and took a training command. In February 1945 Schroer was appointed Kommodore of JG3, where he claimed another 12 victories over Soviet aircraft and on 19th April 1945 he was awarded the swords. Schroer survived the war and passed away in February 1985. He had scored 114 Victories, 102 Western Front, including 61 over North Africa.
This is a rare signed photo
**** PRICE £65 ****
MAJOR RUDOLF 'RUDI' SINNER
DK in Gold
HAUPTMANN HEINZ-MARTIN HADEBALL
Knights Cross
 
Hadeball began his career with the Nachtjagd in July 1941 with NJG1, before moving to NJG4, becoming StaffelKapitan of 12./NJG4 in April 1943. He became Kommandeur of I/NJG6 the following year. Hadeball scored a total of 33 Victories, all at night. He passed away in 1996.
Signed Photo
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Leutnant Hugo BROCH
Knights Cross
Hugo Broch served with JG54 Greenhearts on the Eastern Front, beginning his career in January 1943. He scored his first victory in March of that year and had raised his total to 44 by November. After a spell as an instructor, Broch returned to 6 Staffel JG54 in August 1944. Broch and his Unit flew in defence of the Kurland pocket, along with Aces like Otto Kittel, until the end of the war. Broch scored a total of 81 victories.
Signed Personal Photo
**** PRICE £15 ****
Leutnant JOHANN PICHLER
Knights Cross
Pichler was one of the stalwarts of JG77, serving with that Unit throughout the war. He served in the mediterranean theatre, scoring his first victory on 16.05.1941 - a Hurricane. He continued his success when JG77 moved to Russia before returning to the Med again in 1943. JG77 in 1944 began to encounter US heavy bombers on a regular basis and Pichler scored well against these formidable adversaries. He scored 75 Victories, which included 16 four engine bombers.
Nice Signed Photo
**** PRICE £30 ****
OBERFELDWEBEL EDUARD ISKEN
Knights Cross
Isken was another long-serving pilot from JG77 - he scored 56 Victories, which included 17 four engined heavies. This signed photo is stamped on the rear with Isken's address and also annotated by Isken. The photo shows Isken receiving his Ritterkreuz on 14th january 1945 from General Keller.
Very Nice Item
**** PRICE £20 ****
OBERFELDWEBEL EDUARD ISKEN
Knights Cross
Another signed photo by Isken - this time of his rudder victory scoreboard on his Me109.
Nice Item
**** PRICE £15 ****
OBERLEUTNANT FRANZ STIGLER
Franz Stigler served mainly with JG27, first in North Africa where he flew with some legendary pilots including Hans-Joachim Marseilles. He also flew over Sicily and Italy, scoring 18 victories against the ever-increasing might of Allied air power. With US bomber raids beginning to hurt, Stigler's unit was pulled back to Austria to defend Southern Germany and Stigler began a long battle with the'viermots'. During the last week of the war, Stigler transferred to Galland's JV44 at Munich, where he flew the Me262 fighter, shooting down 2 more US heavies with the jet, although these were never confirmed. Stigler and Galland after the war always had a private joke about the Me262 'White 3'. This is always depicted as Galland's plane but, in fact, it was Stigler's! Stigler flew 487 missions, scored 28 Victories and was shot down 17 [!] times. Stigler was nominated for a Knights Cross but the war ended before he could receive it. On 20th of December 1943 Stigler was scrambled against a US bombing raid, where he encountered the B-17 of Captain Charlie Brown of the 379th Bomb Group. The aircraft was in a dreadful state, badly damaged and barely able to fly. Stigler had lost a brother already in the war and he could have easily added this B-17 to his victory list. However, Stigler felt he could not destroy such a helpless opponent and, to the amazement of the US crew he flew alongside and saluted before swinging away for home. Stigler and Brown met long after the end of the war and became firm friends.
Nice Signed Photo of Stigler in his Me109F 'White 12'
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OBERST WERNER STREIB
Knights Cross with Oak Leaves & Swords
Werner Streib was one of the guiding personalities of the German nightfighter force in the Second World War. Streib scored his first [and only] daylight victory on 10th May 1940 and was then credired with the first victory at night for the new Nightfighter arm - an RAF Whitley. He took over the command of 1st Gruppe NJG1 at Venlo and quickly added to his score - by May 1941 he had achieved 26 Victories. By 26th February 1943 he had been awarded the Oak Leaves and increased his tally to 42 kills. He became Kommodore of the most successful nightfighter Unit in Germany - NJG1. In June 1943 he flew a prototype of the Heinkel 219 and claimed 5 victories on the first sortie! Streib was awarded the Swords and became Inspector for Night Fighters, a post he held to wars end.
Werner Streib achieved a total of 66 Victories. He passed away in 1986.
Very Nice Signed Photo
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Oberleutnant ALFONS KLEIN
Knights Cross
Klein scored his first victory in September 1943 whilst serving with 2./JG52 in Russia. His Staffel became 12./JG11 and a short while later Klein was transferred to the Western Front as Staffelfuhrer of 4./JG11. On 24th December 1944 he transferred back to the east with 10./JG11 flying hazardous ground attack missions. Klein scored a total of 39 Victories, which included 15 IL-2 Stormovich and 6 in the West.
This Photo has been signed on the REAR by Klein with "Last photo October 1944"
**** PRICE £15 ****
MAJOR GEORG-PETER EDER
Knights Cross with Oak Leaves
Georg Peter EDER had a remarkable career in the Luftwaffe, initially serving with JG51 in the Battle of Britain. He then served in Russia scoring several victories before being severely wounded in an accident. On his return he was posted to JG2 in the West and, along with Egon Meyer, devised the deadly head-on attack on US bombers. He later moved to JG1 and continued to score victories before moving to JG26 to fight over Normandy. He later flew the Me262 jet with Kommando Nowotny and JG7 and scored at least 12 victories with the jet. Eder scored a total of 78 victories. He passed away in 1986.
This is an A4 sized photo of an Me262 Signed by Eder and annotated "Major & Gruppen Kdr, Erprobungs - Kdo. Nowotny" - a very rare piece.
***** SOLD *****
OBERST GORDON GOLLOB
Knights Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords and Diamonds
Gollob initially served with ZG76 during the campaigns in Poland and Norway. He took part in the battle of the heligoland Bight where RAF Wellingtons suffered bad losses. During the Battle of Britain Gollob's Unit was one that was part of the ill-fated attack from Norway that was turned away with heavy losses. He joined JG3, converting from the Bf110 to the Bf109 and went to Russia. Here he scored victories at a tremendous rate and reached 150 by August 1942, by which time he was Kommodore of JG77. He was awarded the Oak Leaves and began a series of Staff appointments which culminated in him replacing Galland as General de Jagdflieger. Gollob passed away in 1987.
This A4 sized photo of Me110C's is Signed by Gollob - a rare and nice item
***** SOLD *****
OBERLEUTNANT KARL HULSHOFF
Hulshoff was a founding member of NJG2 way back in 1940 when nightfighting was in its infancy. He also took part in the German 'Intruder' missions against the UK in 1941 which, although successful, were discontinued by Hitler as he reasoned that kills made over in England could not be seen by the German populace and thus not improve morale[!!]. Hulshoff survived this campaign and rose to become Geschwader-Kommodore of NJG2. Hulshoff scored a total of 24 night Victories.
This is an A4 photo signed by Hulshoff showing Me110G fighters flying in a towering cloudscape during daylight.
A very rare and nice piece
***** SOLD *****
SCHLACTFLIEGER
HAUPTMANN FRANZ OSWALD
Knights Cross
Oswald began his career as an observer in Bombers but soon transferred to the Schlactflieger to fly the Henschel 129. He served in Tunisia, Sardinia and Russia, including the Battle for Stalingrad. He destroyed some 50 enemy tanks in his Hs129 and is one of the very few Henschel Aces to receive the Knights Cross.
Signed Photo
**** PRICE £20 ****
KAMPFLIEGER
HAUPTMANN HANS-GEORG BATCHER
Knights Cross with Oak Leaves
Batcher served during the Battles for France and Britain and was one of the stalwarts of the Luftwaffe's Bomber arm. Later in the War he took command of KG 76, which was flying the revolutionary Arado 234 jet.
Nice Signed photo
***** PRICE £25 *****
PANZERWAFFE
OBERSCHARFUHRER ERNST BARKMANN
One of the great Panzer aces from 2nd SS 'Das Reich', Barkmann served during Operation Barbarossa and the great tank battle at Kursk [in a Panzer III !]. He later re-equipped with the much more formidable Panther, where he became a Legend in the defence of Normandy and during the Ardennes Offensive. He fought his final actions around Vienna in the East. Awarded the Knights Cross, Barkmann survived the war with 80+ kills to his credit. Barkmann passed away in 2009.
Very Nice Signed Photo with Unit
**** PRICE £45 ****
HAUPTSTURMFUHRER RUDOLF VON RIBBENTROP
Knights Cross
The son of the German Foreign Minister, Joachin Von Ribbentrop, Rudolf served with the 1st SS Panzer Regiment, part of the 1st SS Panzer Division 'LAH'. Wounded in battle on several occasions, he was in the thick of the fighting. His most famous participation came on 12th July 1943 at the climatic battle of Prokhorovka during the Battle of Kursk. His Panzer IV was part of the forward screen that had crossed over a large Soviet anti-tank ditch. He, in company with three other Panzer IV's then watched with alarm as Rotmistrov's entire reserve was thrown straight at them - hundreds of T-34's! Slightly outnumbered, Ribbentrop's four tanks took on the vast attackers but T-34's began passing him on every side. Amazingly, they were stopped - by their own anti-tank ditch and T-34's started to drive INTO the ditch. On the other side 1st SS rushed up tanks, including the Tiger of Joachim Peiper to plug the gap. Prokhorovka was indeed a melee but the Panzer IV of Ribbentrop, stuck squarely in a mass of enemy armour, now turn around to attack them in the rear! By the end of the highly confused fighting the Soviets had suffered losses that can only be described as 'enormous'. Whether this was a 'victory' is still open to debate! Ribbentrop was awarded the Knights Cross and served in Normandy and during the battle of the bulge.
A very nice signed photo
**** PRICE £45 ****
HAUPTMANN WOLFGANG KOLTERMANN
Knights Cross
Initially saw action during the Polish campaign but did not see service in France. Then served in a series of Units before transferring to sPzAbt 507. Late in the war, equipped with King Tigers 507 ambushed elements of the US 3rd Armoured Division near Paderborn. He was awarded the Knights Cross in March 1945. Koltermann passed away in 1994.
Nice Signed Photo
***** SOLD *****
HAUPTMANN BODO SPRANZ
Knights Cross with Oak Leaves
Spranz served with the artillery during the Polish and French campaigns before training as a Sturmgeschutz crew with 185. He served in Russia with Sturmgeschutz-Brigade 237 - being decorated with the Knights Cross and the Oak Leaves on the same day! After serving a spell at the training school, he found himself in Italy and then Berlin during the final stages of the war.
Nice Signed Photo
**** PRICE £30 ****
HAUPTMANN ROLF DUE
Knights Cross
Due was Chef of 1. PanzerJager Abt 19. He was awarded the Knights Cross on 23rd March 1945. Due passed away in 2005
Signed Photo
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MAJOR JOHANN SPIELMANN
Knights Cross with Oak Leaves
Spielmann had a remarkable career within the Sturm fraternity. He originally served with StgAbt 197, where he was awarded the Knights Cross on 27.03.1942. He was promoted and joined Schwere Panzer Abteilung 653 just in time for the Battle of Kursk in July 1943. sPzAbt653 were equipped with the huge 'Ferdinand' Tank destroyers which were based on the rejected 'Tiger' chassis. These vehicles had 88mm guns but no Infantry defences. They were thrown in against the Soviet defences but penetrated to such an extent that their supporting infantry could not keep with them. Devoid, the Ferdinands came under Infantry attack. Spielmann was wounded during the battle. In 1945 he received the Oak Leaves when commanding SturmGeschBrig 202. Spielmann passed away in August 2005, one of the few survivors of the 'Ferdinand' Destroyers.
Very nice Signed photo
**** PRICE £30 ****
Leni RIEFENSTAHL
Pioneering documentary film maker who made a number of important Films at the beginning of the Nazi era in Germany, her most famous being "Triumph of the Will" illustrating a huge Nazi Rally in Nuremburg in 1934. She, however, remained adamant that she had no Nazi leanings [she never was a party member] and described her work as "Documentary not Propaganda". She passed away in 2003 at the age of 101.
**** Price £30 ****
A piece of Naval History from WW2!
Handwritten & Signed Card - Admiral Sir Desmond DREYER
Card Reads - "I was gunnery Officer (as a Lieutenant Commander) of HMS AJAX when we encountered the German pocket Battleship GRAF SPEE and fought the Battle of the River Plate in company with HMS Exeter & HMNZS ACHILLES on 13 November 1939"
Lovely and rare piece
**** Price £20 ****
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